Good morning from Augusta,
It was another busy week at the State House. The Labor and Housing Committee had several public hearings on issues regarding employee wage and hour violations. On Tuesday the 6th, The PLC testified in opposition to LD 372, An Act to Increase Enforcement and Accountability for Wage and Hour Violations. The bill brought forward by Senator Tipping (D-Bangor), was a carry-over from the first regular session, which was a concept draft. The language for the bill was not released to the public until the Friday before the public hearing, giving interested parties very little time to review it before having to testify. This has been a common issue this session and there is a growing frustration among lobbyists as well as members of the legislature regarding the games played with concept-drafts.
The bill itself increases enforcement by expanding the scope of wage and hour violations, doubles the penalty for liquidated damages, and allows the director of the Bureau of Labor Standards to assess forfeiture up to $1000 against an employer who violates any provision of Title 26 Chapter 7 and Chapter 15 of the employment practices statute. There was an even number of people in attendance to testify in favor and in opposition, but it is worth noting the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards testified in support of the bill, and he alluded to the department being more proactive in seeking out these types of violations.
For further context on the remarks of the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards being more proactive with wage and hour enforcement, his testimony can be found here. It appears the Department of Labor is going to be taking more of a top-down approach to enforcement of wage and hour violations.
The Labor and Housing committee will hold a work session next week, where LD 372 will likely be voted along party lines. However, it will be interesting to see how the Governor will act given the heavy-handed approach the Department of Labor is taking.
In addition to the work session on LD 372 next week, the PLC will be weighing in on a bill that will provide relief to small businesses affected by weather-related events and continuing to oppose a bill on overtime protections for certain Maine workers. You can find more information on these bills below or from our bill tracking spreadsheet here.
Last Week’s Legislative Activity February 5 – February 9, 2024
Tuesday, February 6, 2024,
LD 372, An Act to Increase Enforcement and Accountability for Wage and Hour Violations, Public Hearing – Labor and Housing Committee
This bill aims to increase enforcement by expanding the scope of wage and hour violations, doubles the penalty for liquidated damages, and allows the director of the Bureau of Labor Standards to assess forfeiture up to $1000 against an employer who violates any provision of Title 26 Chapter 7 and Chapter 15 of the employment practices statute. Current law only pertains to Chapter 7, sections 1 – 4 and this bill would expand the enhanced penalties to ALL of Chapter 7 and ALL of Chapter 15. The bill goes above and beyond what is in federal law and would make Maine an outlier.
The PLC testified in opposition to this bill on Tuesday, February 6th. There will be a work session on this bill next week.
Thursday, February 8, 2024
LD 1648, An Act to Make Changes to the Farm and Open Space Tax Law, Work Session – Taxation Committee
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Boyle (D-Gorham) establishes a new method for the valuation of land under the farm and open space tax law. Last year, PLC testified in qualified support, but insisted that changes be made to encourage forest management on open space to encourage the growth and harvest of more wood, not less, and not make land a haven for carbon management (no harvest).
A revised version of the bill was presented to the Taxation Committee by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the primary supporter of the bill. TNC presented the bill on behalf of the stakeholder group the PLC is part of that had been collectively working on the new language. The PLC is in support of the working group’s recommendation. The committee voted along party lines (5-5) to accept the recommendations of the stakeholder group, with Republican members of the committee voting ought not to pass. Three committee members were absent, which will inevitably make the final vote a 7-6 majority in favor of the new language.
LLD 122, An Act to Authorize the Efficiency Maine Trust to Establish a Program to Support the Uptake of Medium-duty and Heavy-duty Zero-emission Vehicles by Maine Businesses and to Establish a Medium-duty and Heavy-duty Zero-emission Vehicle-to-grid Pilot Project, Work Session - Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee.
Last year the PLC testified with qualified support for this bill on February 14th of last year. Where this is a concept draft, Senator Ingwersen (the bill sponsor) produced a new amendment before the work session. The amendment requires the Efficiency Maine Trust to establish a pilot program to provide incentives for the purchase and lease of medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles used in a commercial application.
The bill was reconsidered upon language review to make a change to the previous amendment. The bill would require 50% of the funding be allocated to businesses with 50 employees or less. It would also remove businesses of 500 employees or more from qualifying for the pilot project. The bill was voted along party lines 6-5 with the Republicans being in opposition.
Next Week’s Legislative Activity February 12 – February 16, 2024
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
LD 2191, An Act to Provide Relief to Small Businesses Affected by Severe Weather-related Events, Public Hearing, 1pm - Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business Committee
This bill would establish the Small Business Weather Emergency Relief Program to provide relief payments to small businesses affected by severe weather-related events and directs the Department of Economic and Community Development to adopt rules for the administration of the program, including eligibility requirements, application processes and methods for determining award amounts, no later than March 30, 2024. The bill includes a one-time General Fund appropriation of $50,000,000 in fiscal year 2023-24 to the program. The PLC will testify in support of this effort and if implemented correctly, it could provide a lifeline for loggers and truckers who have suffered losses due to the extreme weather events over the past month and a half.
Thursday, February 15, 2024
LD 372, An Act to Increase Enforcement and Accountability for Wage and Hour Violations, Work Session, 1pm – Labor and Housing Committee
PLC is opposed to this bill. The testimony and update on the legislation can be found above.
LD 513, An Act Regarding Overtime Protections for Certain Maine Workers, Work Session, 1pm – Labor and Housing Committee
The bill, sponsored by Senator Mike Tipping (D-Bangor) annually raises the minimum salary that an employee who works in an executive, administrative or professional capacity must earn in order for that employee to be exempt from the laws governing the minimum wage and overtime pay until it is, when converted to an annual rate, greater than 4,500 times the State's minimum hourly wage on January 1, 2026. It provides that the overtime pay requirement applicable to employees of nonprofit corporations may be met through compensatory time agreements. It directs the Department of Labor to adopt routine technical rules, including rules regarding compensatory time for employees of nonprofit corporations. The PLC testified in opposition to this bill.
LD 513 had an initial work session on Tuesday, January 23rd and Senator Tipping brought forward an amendment that would do the following, “an employee that works in an executive, administrative, or professional capacity must earn $55,086 beginning January 1, 2025, to be exempt from the laws governing minimum wage and overtime pay. Includes and annual adjustment starting January 2026 based on the percentage of annual increase in certain earnings published by the US DOL”. The bill was tabled due to the need for more information from outside parties.
Rule Making and Regulatory Issues
Maine Department of Labor: Paid Family and Medical Leave Listening Session - February 12, 2024, 5:30pm – 7:00pm via Zoom
The Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) will host a listening session regarding the new Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Program. The listening session is an opportunity for members of the public to raise questions and identify areas that need clarification in the legislation. These questions and areas needing clarification will be used to inform the official rule-making process, which will begin in the spring. This informal listening session does not replace and is in addition to the formal regulatory process governed by the Maine Administrative Procedures Act (MAPA).
This listening session will focus on the topic of private plans. Staff from the PFML Program will provide an overview about the provisions in the new law that relate to private plans and then will open the meeting to hear from the public. Participants who wish to comment will be allowed up to two minutes.
The session will be held via Zoom on February 12, 2024, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. If you are not able to access this meeting online, there will be access to watch at the Maine Department of Labor Frances Perkins Room, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta. Please use the Career Center entrance when arriving. Attendance will be limited to 500 people. If the webinar is full, a recording of this event will be posted to the Department's PFML webpage after the event has concluded.
Information regarding the PFML Program, including the implementation timeline and the PFML legislative language, can be found here. To ensure we maximize public comment, please review the parts of the law that relate to private plans ahead of the listening session.
Click here to register for the listening session on February 12. Registration is free.
Would you like to share input on truck electrification?
Names being requested for Medium & Heavy Roadmap Group
The Governor’s office of Policy, Innovation, and the Future (GOPIF) is looking for people who are willing to share their company’s perspectives for focus groups as the office develops a Medium and Heavy-Duty Roadmap through the Maine Climate Council. An advisory group is being formed to help determine steps needed for widespread adoption of electrification for commercial motor vehicles. MBTA is working with other associations to develop a list of names to share with them of anyone who may be willing to share any perspectives on electrification of your operations. They are looking for any views, positive or negative, or neutral but having questions or concerns.
If you have considered Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) for your fleet, this is an opportunity to share your experiences whether you are experiencing a smooth transition, or if you have experienced roadblocks. If implementing ZEVs won’t work for your fleet, it is important for GOPIF to hear any reasons for that.
Please email Dana@plcloggers.org if your company is willing to be put on the list to participate in small focus groups to help guide this policy. GOPIF will select the participants, but it is important we provide a list of members who are willing to provide an industry perspective as soon as possible. Thank you.
Have a great weekend, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
Dana